Always
by whirlwinds of watercolours
Summary: She made a promise when she was little - but would she keep it?


**Summary: She made a promise when she was little - but would she keep it?**

**Rating: K plus for non violent descriptions of a canon-compliant death.**

**Word Count: 2833**

**Written For: The Yellow Rose Bowl: A Friendship Competition; The Seven Fics Challenge; Weasley Wizard Wheezes Competition: Bruise Remover Paste; Your Favourite Hogwarts House Boot Camp; Honeydukes Competition: Blood-Flavoured Lollipops; Let's End This The Way We Started It Competition; Diagon Alley Challenge: Second Hand Shop; Magical Objects Competition: Sneakoscope; Write About a Character Challenge.**

**A/N: I don't know how this idea came about, but here you go! I had to use the word 'Always' as the first and last word of the story and since 'Always' was regarded as a Snape quote, I decided to break away from the cliches and try another pairing other than unrequited!Snape/Lily (even though it has room for so much angst...). Also, for clarifications: Voldemort only started the full-blown terrorism of Muggles/Muggle-borns in the 1970s, while Andromeda and Rabastan attended school in the 1960s. I would've imagined back then they had little to some attacks that no one ****in the Wizarding world** would take much notice of and they still dared to say his name until he rose to power later.

**Thanks to my betas _Emma Quinn_ and _VenusInHerHair_!**

* * *

_"Always?" Rabastan asked, eyebrows raised in slight amusement and pleasant surprise._

_"Always," Andromeda grinned, wide chocolate-brown eyes sparkling with happiness as she took his hand in hers. "I mean it. We'll always be friends, I promise."_

* * *

She made a promise when she was seven.

She kept it, at least for a while.

* * *

She was Andromeda Black and he was Rabastan Lestrange.

Even at school, they were two different beings. While she was friendly and outgoing, he was withdrawn and quiet. Whereas she was more of a Gryffindor than a Slytherin, he was a Slytherin, through and through. Although she liked to break the code of conduct for purebloods, he stuck firmly to the pureblood traditions and never once put a toe out of line.

Despite all their differences, they remained firm friends.

They would spend afternoons studying together in the library and they would always meet up in the common room afterwards to just _talk_; about life and their siblings and whatever else that came to mind until it became such a well-practiced routine that they did not even have to think about the topic of conversation anymore. Practically inseparable, you found one and you would most likely find the other. Rumours swirling around the corridors of Hogwarts had it that those two would be engaged to each other and that they would have a happy pureblood marriage for sure.

But war has a habit of tearing people apart.

* * *

"Meet me in the Forbidden Forest tonight at midnight, Andi," he whispered mysteriously into her ear one evening in the crowded Slytherin Common Room, disappearing up the stairs to his dormitory before she could even form a response.

Staring after his retreating figure in confusion, she put away her belongings in a leisurely manner, giving her ample of time to think about Rabastan's request while keeping her hands busy. Why did he want to meet her in the Forbidden Forest of all places and after curfew? There must be something wrong.

Puzzled and perplexed, she spent the rest of the night lying in bed, pretending to be asleep when actually thinking about Rabastan's request. Should she go? Although he was her best friend, it did not mean she had to comply with him all the time, right? He must be up to something major if he was sneaking out after curfew – Rabastan was not a troublemaker; he would never break the rules unless it was absolutely necessary.

At least twenty minutes before midnight, she crept out of bed, taking care not to wake any girls in her dorm. Most of them were heavy sleepers – but still, she had to be careful.

Casting a Disillusion Charm on herself, she made her way through the empty corridors of Hogwarts, as silent as a shadow. Lit only by the fire from the torches hung on the walls, flickering shadows danced on the dreary walls. As a result, the corridors gave off a dark and eerie vibe, making a shiver run down her spine and so she subsequently quickened her pace.

Thankfully, she made it out of the castle without any encounters from Filch or his nasty cat. Although Argus Filch was a fairly new caretaker, he had inherited that uncanny ability of catching students out of bed from his father, who was his predecessor. At this point in time, Andromeda did not fancy cleaning out cauldron bottoms or wiping desks without use of her magic.

"Rabastan?" she whispered, stopping at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and undoing the Disillusion Charm since she was fairly certain no one but Rabastan should be around. She would not go any further – the one and only time she was sent to the Forbidden Forest for one of her many detentions resulted in her tripping over one of the gnarled tree roots and spending a week in the Hospital Wing with a concussion. Cygnus Black had been furious with the school ever since and demanded that his clumsy daughter was to be kept indoors if she was ever sent to detention again.

A quick glance around showed that Rabastan was nowhere in sight. Checking her watch, she realised it was only ten minutes before midnight – Rabastan should be here soon; he liked being prompt as much as she did.

The rustling of tree branches snapped her out of her thoughts and her eyes roved the area, seeking the source of the noise. Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, she approached the tree cautiously, the incantation for the Stunning Spell at the tip of her tongue.

"Tell me, what was the potion we studied this afternoon in the library?" a voice hissed as a hooded figure leapt from behind the tree, pointing a wand right at her throat. Startled, she took a step back from the figure, her back pressing against the trunk of another tree.

_What is this all about?_ she thought to herself, panic rising in her throat. Why did he ask a security question if he should already know it was I? No one else would be out at this time of the night.

Although the hooded figure could be no one else but Rabastan, she could not be sure either – anyone could have heard Rabastan's words and the details of their secret meeting – but he should obviously see that it really was Andromeda Black standing before him since she already undid the Disillusion Charm. But then again, the hooded figure could only be Rabastan since only he would know the answer to that question… unless he told someone to meet with her. But why would he do that?

Questions swarming in her mind, she replied. "Amortentia," she stated clearly, keeping her voice from trembling. "Why was I sent to detention during Christmas break in our fourth year?" she asked, coming up with a security question of her own. Rabastan could not have told _everything _about their friendship to someone else, right?

"Because you were caught sneaking around the potions lab," a bemused tone crept into his cold voice. "We wanted to brew this highly illegal potion we found in one of the books from the Black library for fun, and only Slughorn had the rare and important ingredient we needed. I was stuck in the Hospital Wing after catching a nasty cold so you volunteered to be the thief. While trying to get to the ingredient, which was on the top most shelf, you broke two jars of eel eyes and a jar of Gillyweed. Slughorn caught you after the dreadful ruckus, but our goal was achieved. We didn't manage to brew the potion after we melted the cauldron by accident, though."

A fond smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the memories came rushing back. How dreadfully clumsy she was – her mother did not understand where she got it from. All members of the Black house were taught to be extremely elegant in their movements from a young age, but somehow Andromeda was the sole exception. She would be the one who tripped over her own feet and the one who always knocked over the tea tray or something else while trying to serve tea to their guests, earning scowls from her mother. Bellatrix and Narcissa were the naturals who got a rare beam or a twitch of the lips from their stony-faced mother.

"Why are you wearing that hood, Rab?" she asked, annoyed, reaching to tug the hood off. Honestly, who was mad enough to wear hoods these days? Only that selected group of Voldemort's 'followers' – as they called it – named the 'Death Eaters' – she had no idea why they chose such a strange name – wore hoods nowadays to protect their identity while rallying more 'followers'.

"Sorry, Andi," he winced as the hood was tugged back rather painfully. "Couldn't be sure if it was someone else under Polyjuice. Especially since you weren't cautious enough to remain Disillusioned. I didn't want to get detention, you see."

"It's fine," she sighs heavily. "What did you bring me out here at this time of the night for, Rab? I know it has to be something – you're such a good boy, you'll never risk detention for something trivial."

Eyes glittering with excitement in the moonlight, he leaned in closer to her and whispered into her ear. "I got accepted into the inner circle, Andromeda."

_I got accepted into the inner circle._

"What are you talking about?" she asked casually, feigning cluelessness even though she had a very good idea what he was referring to.

No.

No, she was not going to believe him – he had to be lying. She did not believe him; _she would not_!

How could he join the ruthless followers of Voldemort? Did he not know the cruel, back-handed means they wanted to use to 'purge the world' of those harmless, innocent Muggles and Muggle-borns – how could he sit at their meetings, planning how to _kill _and _torture_ people? Did he not know that once _his _mark was branded on their skins, it meant a lifetime of servitude; a lifetime spent in constant danger?

_That was why he was missing from the Common Room that night. He must have snuck off to Hogsmeade to meet his new master…_

"You know what I mean, Andi." With a flourish, he pulled up the left sleeve of his robe, revealing the freshly branded mark. In the gleaming moonlight, the black skull and snake seemed to writhe in a sinister and _alive _manner, contrasting against his sensitive and reddened skin.

"How… how could you…?" Speechless, she stumbled back from him, wanting to get as far away from the eerie mark as possible. No, no, no – she was having a nightmare. Any moment now, she was going to jerk awake and discover that this night's events never happened; that Rabastan was still on the neutral side; that his skin was never marred in the first place.

But she never did wake up.

Without a word, she turned and ran back to the castle, not caring if she was seen.

* * *

"The engagement has been called off."

Alert, his head snapped up from where he was writing notes for the Dark Lord on a piece of yellowed parchment immediately. Dark eyes narrowing, his voice was icy cold when he spoke.

"Why?"

His mother sniffed disdainfully as she answered. "The Blacks have bred yet another blood traitor. This time she ran off with a filthy Mudblood."

_Another blood traitor._

No.

_No._

It simply was not possible.

_Andromeda… a blood traitor?_

Head spinning from the news, the yellowed parchment lay forgotten on the table as he stood up abruptly from where he sat, pacing around the room while trying to process this new piece of information in his brain. How was it possible that _Andromeda,_ of all people, was a blood traitor? Sure, she never did like to be confined within pureblood traditions, but he never would have imagined she was such a… such a… _Mudblood lover._

"It was a clever decision of yours to distance from her for the rest of that year," his mother continued with a hint of satisfaction in her usually spiteful voice, unaware of his thoughts. "If I had known that she was going to run off with that foul Mudblood back then, I would have never let you become friends with her in the first place. Honestly, Rabastan, out of all people in the world you become friends with a disgusting blood traitor?"

Her words brought him up short and he froze, mid-step. Sensing nothing amiss about that, his mother continued muttering nasty insults about Andromeda in the worst way possible, but he did not hear a word she said. Instead, his eyes strayed to his left forearm, where the Dark Mark was hidden under his long sleeve.

"_How… how could you…?"_

Just like that, the mystery was solved and the Pandora's box was open in his mind.

It was all his fault.

* * *

She made a promise when she was seven.

She did not keep it.

* * *

"Nymphadora!"

A bright green flash, a step aside too slow, and the lifeless body of Nymphadora Tonks crumpled like a marionette with its strings cut.

Time seemed to freeze as her legs brought her over to the motionless body of her daughter, sprawled awkwardly on the ground. Dark eyes – Nymphadora's favourite choice of eye colour – were wide open, but there was no light in them as they stared blankly and unblinkingly ahead; they were just empty, bottomless pits.

"Dora…" Andromeda whispered, cradling her daughter's lolling head in her arms. Tears began to prick in her eyes at the unfairness of all this – her daughter had just finally found happiness with Remus and even bore him a child, but all of it had to be taken away from her before she could even properly enjoy life at its best.

Although she knew it was hopeless; that it was a lost cause, she still placed two fingers over her wrist, feeling for a pulse that was not and would not ever be there again. When she found nothing, a fresh round of sobs wracked her body as cold, hard truth finally sunk in – her daughter was dead.

_My daughter is dead_, she thought as she planted a kiss on Nymphadora's forehead, whispering a quiet goodbye to her.

_My husband is dead_, she told herself as she stood from her crouched position slowly, gripping her wand in hand tightly.

Brown eyes met black eyes, but the black held no warmth as they regarded her with a haughty air of contempt and satisfaction.

Raising her wand with deliberate slowness, Bellatrix's expression was one of a cat that had cornered a mouse and the mouse had no way to escape.

_I am going to die_, she vaguely noted as Bellatrix's full pink lips formed the incantation, not even bothering to raise her wand to defend herself or dodge out of the way. After all, what was the point of living in a world of death and destruction?

_I am going to die._

Green flash.

* * *

"You have a visitor," the guard grunted to him disdainfully, sneering as he stopped outside his cell door.

_I have a visitor._

Those words sounded foreign to his ears and he nodded, though he was not sure what that would mean – let the visitor in? He acknowledged the visitor's presence? His mind was numb; numb ever since he was shoved back to the terrible place he was forced to spend twelve years of his life in.

A dark figure stepped in and he squinted his eyes in the dim light of his cell, trying to get a better look at him. Dark eyes… dark long hair… aristocratic, defined features from what he could make out right now, which was not much… _Rodolphus?_ his mind thought hazily. _But isn't Rodolphus dead? He was killed in the battle, remember? Also, he had short hair… and he wouldn't be caught dead wearing a yellow rose brooch._

The unidentified figure cautiously stepped closer, as if afraid of him. The cloud in his head seemed to clear somewhat at the better view of the figure now, and he was finally able to place a name to the person. With narrowed eyes, his dry voice was barely more than a whisper when he croaked out the word.

"Andromeda?"

She simply nodded her head in acknowledgement, without speaking anything to him. They remained like that for a while, neither of them willing to break the silence first while the tension which hung in the air palpably thickened.

Finally, it was Andromeda who spoke.

"Thank you," she said softly in a slightly stiff tone, not meeting his eyes. "For saving me."

Like her, he merely gave a nod and kept his head down, until he could hear the footsteps of Andromeda fading away as she left the prison.

"That's what friends are for, right?" he told himself.

* * *

She was Andromeda Black and he was Rabastan Lestrange.

They were as different as different could be – she was the parent of an Order of the Phoenix member while he was a Death Eater. Whereas she was innocent, he was to remain in prison for the rest of his life in payment for the crimes he had committed under the reign of Voldemort.

Yet, they remained friends. Neither of them knew why – they had always known that they were polar opposites ever since they were young. Perhaps it was because she had made that inconsequential promise, or maybe it was because he blasted her out of the Killing Curse's way in the Final Battle.

But what was important was that friendship was the stitching that kept everything together, even when it was hanging by a thread.

* * *

She made a promise when she was seven.

Maybe, just maybe she would get to keep it in the end.

* * *

"_We're going to be friends forever, right?" Rabastan asked casually, not wanting to betray his doubt and fears._

_A huge smile broke out across Andromeda's face. "Always."_


End file.
